Quintana willing to face Williams, Angulo or Kirkland

Dennis Taylor

May 19, 2011

Former WBO welterweight beltholder Carlos Quintana is hoping to fight Paul Williams in a July 9 fight on HBO, filling a vacancy that popped up after the network rejected Williams' original opponent, Nobuhiro Ishida of Japan.

But Quintana also reportedly is looking for a fight this fall against either James Kirkland or Alfredo Angulo, according to his trainer.

"I talked to (promoter) Lou DiBella and I'm negotiating a fight for August or September," Jose Bonilla told Rey Colon of The Sport Press. "Those two (Kirkland and Angulo) were mentioned. They are strong, but Quintana is at a stage that we must seek fights where there is good money, and Quintana also is strong at 154."

Meanwhile, DiBella advised Boxing Scene that two of his boxers — Quintana (28-3, 22 knockouts) and Deandre Latimore (22-3, 17 KOs) are available and ready to fill HBO's void for the Williams fight.

"Latimore will take that fight in a second, and so will Quintana," DiBella told Rick Reeno. "Quintana is a full 154-pounder. He told me he struggled to make 147 (against Andre Berto) and he really wants this fight.

"People can point to the quick knockout (in the Quintana-Williams rematch), but Williams got KO'd in the second round of his rematch with Sergio Martinez, so these things happen. I think at 154 it would be a different fight."

Quintana handed Williams the first defeat of his career, outpointing him over rounds in their WBO title fight in 2008. Williams scored a first-round knockout in the rematch four months later.

Latimore lost a split decision to Cory Spinks in 2009 and a majority decision to Sechew Powell in 2010. He defeated Darien Ford and Dennis Sharpe in his two most-recent outings.